CHAPTER 12 (PART - A)


The next day on the Sea Serpent was a tense one. Allan’s crewmen were getting restless. The original crew members continued on with their duties, but Allan’s handpicked crew members helped him with special missions. The daily duties were getting piled up on the original crew members and they were getting sick and tired of having to carry the slack. Arguments and fist fights erupted and even a knife fight occurred.

Allan got so sick of it all that he announced to all the crew on the ship that those who participated in the next brawl would be shot by him personally. No more fights took place but Allan’s members of his inner circle were also getting restless. Why were they delaying the search for Tintin? Allan and Herr Wagner were having more dialogue as of late and Lento didn’t know if that was good thing or not.

Lento knew that Allan may not have been extremely book smart, but his common sense was impeccable he noted on many levels. The fact that someone who seemed to have come from a poor background, Allan was fluent not only in English but in German and French, but preferred German because it sounded stronger. Allan had called him, Ivan, Mikhail, Tom, and Gaspar to meet up in the conference room, also a gambling room amongst high ranking crew members.

Everyone had been sitting in there for almost half of an hour and was beginning to get antsy. Gaspar kept pounding the table with a smug look on his face slipping a curse word every other minute.
“What’s wrong with you?” Lento finally asked.
“My girls, my girls!” he pouted.
“What do you mean my girls?” Lento looked confused.
“Herr Wagner said he needs one… and won’t be returning her” Gaspar snorted.
His bulky frame heaved with angst and dissatisfaction. He looked as if he were going to bust out of black tank top. He took off his black bandana revealing his bald head.

“Wait a minute? Your girls?!” Lento exclaimed.
“Yes, my girls! You got a problem with that slinky!” Gaspar said offensively.
“I’m just confused, I haven’t seen any girls” Lento clarified.
“Good, no one’s supposed to see them” Gaspar smiled darkly.
Lento began to think for a moment and began to realize what they may be doing later that night. He didn’t like doing these kinds of dark rituals he grabbed rubbed his temples.
“Why you ask, do you know something?” Gaspar wasn’t sure of what Lento was getting at.
“Don’t worry about it, you wouldn’t understand if I told you” Lento sighed.
“I’m getting tired of your riddles lasagna man!” Gaspar glared at him.

Lento only looked stoically at him without emotion. Luckily Allan entered the room with a confused look on his face as he took his seat. He rolled his eyes for a moment as if he was forming a thought.

“It seems for right now we got a side mission to accomplish,” Allan sighed shaking his head as if he really didn’t agree with it.
“What is it?” Gaspar quickly interjected. Lento looked at his two Russian associates as they scowled at Gaspar.
“Herr Wagner wants us to capture the remaining Crimson Head gang members…alive!” he almost thundered.
“But why?!” Gaspar was quick to respond again.
“I don’t know…revenge?! All I know is that is what we are supposed to do…in the meantime, Tintin will most likely disappear from our sites!” Allan seemed more than a bit perturbed by this new order.
“Well, if that’s what he wants, I suggest we not keep him waiting” Lento shrugged. “How hard could tracking them be? You said you had vast networks in London Admiral!” Lento finished his snide remark, but it was wasted as Allan was too preoccupied with the order.

Allan became silent for a minute then his mood lightened considerably. “Ah, I know some ‘old friends’ who owe me a favor. I’m guessing these may be the last of this ‘gang’ so flushing them out with another should be quite easy to eliminate the competition,” Allan completed his thought.
“What are you saying boss?” Tom spoke finally.
“It’s simple Tom, we let another gang do our work for us,” he grinned at his solution.
“Oh I get it! Ole Tessie!” Tom blurted out idiotically.
“Shhh… don’t go blurting out all of my secrets!” Allan scolded.
“I’m sorry boss…” Tom frowned.
“Ok, I know what we’re going to do…Mikhail, I want to take you with me and Tom. Sorry Gaspar, you will need to stay behind, can’t take any more chances getting unwanted attention” Allan finished.

“So when do we leave?” Mikhail asked absently.
“Right now, we will be back by evening” Allan grinned.
“Damn! I wanted to kill!” Gaspar pounded the table.
“I said there will be no killing, Herr Wagner wants them alive!” he reminded Gaspar.
“We’ll be back in our cabin if you need us” Lento stood up leaving the room motioning for Ivan to follow. Lento grew more distrustful and disliking of Gaspar as each day passed.

Allan, Tom, and Mikhail left the room leaving Gaspar alone with his twisted thoughts.

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“Lento, the man is becoming more and more of a…” Ivan whispered as they were returning to their cabin.

“Shhh…we’ll talk more when we return to the room,” he warned. Lento noticed more and more of Allan’s special crew as time went on making mental note of where their loyalties lied. He already knew what Ivan wanted to discuss for it too was on his mind. It was about Gaspar. He was a more than ruthless killer and would turn on someone in a second, even if they had the same goal. Lento felt that Gaspar was a loose cannon and a time may come when he may need to be dealt with. After five minutes of walking through the network of corridors, they returned to their room.

“He’s a very dangerous man…” Ivan said as he took a seat on his cot.
“I know…” Lento said going to his knap sack to take out a book.
“What are we going to do about it?” Ivan asked with concern.
“Nothing right now, you just focus on making sure you and Mikhail know where your true loyalty lies” Lento whispered. Ivan nodded with understanding.
“Leave this problem to me, I will address this issue as opportunity presents itself” Lento explained.
“You think Mikhail and I could get rid of him?” mused.
“I don’t think you or Mikhail cold beat him if it came to it. He’s much more dangerous than he appears. No, right now he has his use, but I have another way of dealing with him, I’ll just need some time” Lento said opening his book.

Ivan thought about Lento’s last statement but knew that Lento had never led them wrong for the past couple years they have worked together. He nodded silently and quietly stared out the window.

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